Fences were set up to contain the falling trees, however some branches fell outside of the fenced-off area.
Preparations to construct a multi-million dollar music center behind Schoenberg Hall began today and stopped within just a few hours.
This afternoon, construction workers began cutting down trees behind Schoenberg Hall near the inverted fountain, where the new Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center will be located. Once completed, the center will house rehearsal space, faculty offices and a recording studio, the Bruin reported last year.
Just before 2 p.m., workers cut down one of the trees, which looked almost twice as high as the backside of Schoenberg Hall.
The tree came crashing down, putting a large dent in the chain link fence that barricaded the construction zone. Several branches of the tree also fell outside of the closed-off area.
There were no pedestrians in proximity, said Rebecca Kendall, a UCLA spokeswoman, in an email statement.
Daniel Sifuentes, a deputy fire marshal for the UCLA Fire Department, was helping teach a free outdoor fire extinguisher class for UCLA students, staff and faculty nearby when the tree fell.
He said he told the construction workers to stop and called for more members of the UCLA Fire Department to come to the scene.
“We want to make sure that whatever happens going forward is safe,” Sifuentes said.
Steve Jurado and Ricardo Barboza of the UCLA Fire Department talked to the construction workers when they arrived at the scene.
A stop work order was issued to ensure compliance on the site and the safety of pedestrians and site workers, Kendall said in the statement.
Compiled by Jillian Beck, Bruin senior staff.